Elder Law: Plan needed to help deal with Alzheimer's

William Edy • Special to news-press.com • July 13, 2008

Clients, and often their spouses and children, raise two issues that affect elder law and the preservation of their assets. First, they ask if those with diminished capacity can still sign a last will or trust, power of attorney and health care surrogate designation. Second, they ask if they should plan for a nursing home placement and depending on their assets and income, whether they should begin to think about Medicaid for nursing home placement. Elder law attorneys can help clients and their families with these concerns.

Generally, when a person is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, or other dementia type illness, they do not realize their problem and are the worst assessor of their condition. Often those who live close to the person suffering from dementia are also not good assessors. Fortunately, there are doctors who specialize in memory problems and there are 13 Memory Clinics throughout Florida, one of which is at Lee Memorial Health System.

Care-partners (a better term than care giver) may make an appointment at one of these clinics if they suspect a memory problem. They do not need a referral from a physician. Costs should be covered by Medicare.

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